Thanks to everyone who replied to this string today. Your responses have
given me a lot of good information. 

I guess I should have reintroduced myself sooner but here goes. 
I have been a listserv lurker for about 4 years. Recently, I started
working with Midwest Research Institute. It is a not-for-profit research
institute that conducts work in broad range of fields. You might know it
better as the organization that developed the candy coating shell for
M&M's way back when. 

You may have been able to tell I intensely dislike subjective retention
period terms like "permanent". Considering the diversity of the records
we generate, one size fits all just doesn't seem appropriate. Frankly, I
would probably go with the retention period of 10,000 years and 6 months
vs. permanent if those were my only choices. 

My interpretation of "permanent" would include records that would need
to be transferred somewhere else in the event of the dissolution of a
corporation, organization, or agency. In other words, permanent records
would have relevance beyond the lifespan of the organization that
generated them. This definition is based on my background of working in
the legal and corporate environments. 

Thanks again to everyone on the listserv for being such a great
resource! 

Rob Seibolt

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